


Sunflower

by AQueenOfPromise



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26429395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AQueenOfPromise/pseuds/AQueenOfPromise
Summary: A little flashback brings some peace to an ongoing and uncertain journey.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Sunflower

“Hey, Brother, wait up! I’m gonna lose you in here like last time!”

The sounds of laughter and shouting faded quickly in the thick crop of corn as Alphonse chased after his older sibling. Although it was the end of summer the season seemed infinite to the boys, never at a loss in finding new adventures to be had in their small town. Whether it was day-long games of hide and seek with Winry or simple afternoon days of cloud watching the Elrics kept busy and always kept each other company.

Plowing his own path through the monotonous and towering crop Al stumbled into a small clearing, the crunching of stalks changing to a soft padding of dirt. The leaves from the corn left a lingering itchy feeling and as he scratched up and down his arms he looked around. At first there was no sign of Edward and he sighed, just slightly annoyed. The previous time they had ventured into the field they lost each other and ended up making circles around each other before finding their own ways out.

“Brother!” Al called out, not wanting their fun to end on another sour note. “Brother, where are you?”

“Hey Al! You need to come look at this!”

Hearing Ed’s faint reply he looked into the distance and saw the smallish figure of his brother jumping up and down. He broke into a run and before he even reached him his mouth gaped in awe. In front of him stood a single sunflower, taller than the cornstalks. It swayed gently in the open air with its face bending down to take a peek at them.

“It is really cool!” Al replied but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears as he glanced over at Ed. His brother’s eyes were wide and shining, his head tilted back as far as it could as he stepped around the flower.

“I bet one day I’ll be as tall as this,” Ed declared with a smirk, standing with his back against the stem and hands planted firmly on his hips. “You just wait and see!”

Al smiled and glided his hand from the top of his own head to where it landed on the stem. “We both have a long way to go. But if you get to be as tall as this then I’ll be at least an inch taller.” His smile turned to a grin as he nudged Ed playfully in the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. “If we don’t find our way out now we’ll be late for dinner!”

Narrowing his eyes Ed pursued his brother back into the thick maze, calling after him as the sun blazed overhead.

—

With a groan Edward tossed his suitcase to the ground and leaned up against the fence that lined the road’s edge. “We’ve been walking for miles and not one car has stopped! I’m going to be walking barefoot at the rate these shoes are going.” He kicked the heel of his right foot against one of the posts and the dirt shook off bit by bit.

Alphonse shook his head. “Come on, Brother. We’ve had plenty of people help us along the way. You always just focus on the one bad thing to happen so far.” He stepped beside Ed, relaying a calm expression with his eyes. True, they’d traveled long and far since leaving Munich and had their share of hardships along the way. But hardship was something they were used to and they always seemed to get out of it, one way or another.

A shrug was all Al got in reply for the moment and he leaned back, the old wood creaking. Taking in a deep breath he looked up at the sky. It was a clear day and the sun showed them hardly any mercy. His eyes squinted at the brightness, blinking a few times before a dark blur in the corner of his sight caught his attention.

He turned to look over his shoulder and a once familiar face beamed down at him. It looks like neither of us got to be that tall.

A small laugh prompted Ed to look over at his brother whose face was blushing and he saw a smile he hadn’t seen Al wear in some time. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Al breathed out. “But if we’re going to make it to the next town we should get moving.” He squeezed his brother’s shoulder before starting to walk down the road.

“What do you mean nothing? You were obviously laughing at something!” Ed scooped up his suitcase and followed after, their back-and-forth being watched after by the small patch of sunflowers the dotted the side of the road.


End file.
